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What's your source for this? Say more. As a student of one of his students, I want to know more.

I am not Alex, but I can give some answer.

Yamaguchi Sensei regularly visited Hiroshima and I once asked him where he learned his sword, which sword school he attended. He answered that he did not attend any school. He watched others and 'stole' their knowledge. One of these others was most certainly Inaba Minoru of the Shiseikan Dojo at the Meiji Shrine. Mr Inaba trained at the Aikikai Hombu and was taught by Yamaguchi Sensei and he also trained for a while with Kunii Zenya of Kashima Shinryu. Inaba-shi also trained at Yamaguchi Sensei's private dojo on the recommendation of one Shimada Kazushige. Two others known to me also trained under Yamaguchi Sensei's tutelage and also practised the type of swordwork Alex refers to. One is Christian Tissier and the other was M Sekiya, who lived in the UK for a while.

Yamaguchi Sensei regularly visited Hiroshima and I once asked him where he learned his sword, which sword school he attended. He answered that he did not attend any school. He watched others and 'stole' their knowledge. One of these others was most certainly Inaba Minoru of the Shiseikan Dojo at the Meiji Shrine. Mr Inaba trained at the Aikikai Hombu and was taught by Yamaguchi Sensei and he also trained for a while with Kunii Zenya of Kashima Shinryu. Inaba-shi also trained at Yamaguchi Sensei's private dojo on the recommendation of one Shimada Kazushige. Two others known to me also trained under Yamaguchi Sensei's tutelage and also practised the type of swordwork Alex refers to. One is Christian Tissier and the other was M Sekiya, who lived in the UK for a while.

Best wishes

The Kashima Shinryu swordwork seems to be very much associated with the Yamaguchi "school", even if he himself never studied it formally. I went to a summer school in Belgium in the late 1980s with Yasuno Shihan from the Hombu Dojo, whom I knew to have been a student of Yamaguchi Sensei. We spent half an hour or so practising bokken kesagiri (the ichi-no-dachi of the Kashima kihon-dachi), which seemed rather unfamiliar to many of those in the class.

The Kashima Shinryu swordwork seems to be very much associated with the Yamaguchi "school", even if he himself never studied it formally. I went to a summer school in Belgium in the late 1980s with Yasuno Shihan from the Hombu Dojo, whom I knew to have been a student of Yamaguchi Sensei. We spent half an hour or so practising bokken kesagiri (the ichi-no-dachi of the Kashima kihon-dachi), which seemed rather unfamiliar to many of those in the class.

Alex

Absolutely. It was Mr Sekiya who taught Kanetsuka Shihan those basic sword moves at Ryushinkan. I was a Ryushinkan member at the time and such practice was usually done at lunchtime. Old students like David Helsby still practice them. Yasuno Shihan had a close relationship with YS and married into the Yamaguchi family. When I stated that he never studied it formally, I mean that he never enrolled as a student of Kunii Zenya.

Dear Alex,
Yamaguchi Sensei was a really nice man, so unassuming.
I always liked his style and I also liked Sekiya Sensei, another gentleman. His swordwork was beautiful to watch.
Hope yo u are well, Cheers, Joe.

Dear Alex,
Yamaguchi Sensei was a really nice man, so unassuming.
I always liked his style and I also liked Sekiya Sensei, another gentleman. His swordwork was beautiful to watch.
Hope yo u are well, Cheers, Joe.

Hi Joe,

I didn't have much exposure to Sekiya Sensei - I think I started practising at around the time he moved back to Japan. I enjoyed a day he taught in London during a brief visit a few years later, and KS invited him to lead a BAF Summer School in the early nineties, though he wasn't very active by then and didn't teach much.

My memories of Yamaguchi Sensei are much more vivid, with his visits to Oxford in the mid 1980s.

I didn't have much exposure to Sekiya Sensei - I think I started practising at around the time he moved back to Japan. I enjoyed a day he taught in London during a brief visit a few years later, and KS invited him to lead a BAF Summer School in the early nineties, though he wasn't very active by then and didn't teach much.

My memories of Yamaguchi Sensei are much more vivid, with his visits to Oxford in the mid 1980s.

Alex

Hello Alex,

Mr Sekiya was very good. When he was in the UK, I was his otomo and often took ukemi. When I came to Japan and experienced Yamaguchi Sensei's aikido, quite a few things fell into place. YS came to Hiroshima for regular weekend seminars and I attended these for many years, in fact until he passed away. I often took ukemi for YS and, as I say, things fell into place. I also once took ukemi for Inaba Minoru and the experience was similar in many ways. But there was a sharpness, a raw edge, with Mr Inaba's aikido that was not present in that of YS.

It is unfortunate that SS and YS had a falling out, but for a few years before he died, SS trained at the Shiseikan dojo.

He said that Noguchi sensei was a fellow student of Yamaguchi sensei and also was more present in YS's dojo - meaning he was there for more years and also spent some of that time teaching or at least regularly substituting on YS's behalf. Noguchi sensei studied with Kunii sensei for a little less than Inaba sensei, but also had the direct transmission.

Inaba sensei continued to study aikido with Yamaguchi sensei, and teaches it alongside the Kashima no Tachi as in his view the need for relaxation alongside the sharpness and focus of the sword is totally necessary.

Sekiya sensei took the decision at the age of 70 to study with Inaba sensei at the Shiseikan - quite a statement of recognition given his age and experience. Was discussing earlier with Paul Smith and SS apparently said his body got better after 70 from that study. I think that SS influenced IS to "open up" to westerners more - for which people such as myself are a direct beneficiary and very grateful!

He said that Noguchi sensei was a fellow student of Yamaguchi sensei and also was more present in YS's dojo - meaning he was there for more years and also spent some of that time teaching or at least regularly substituting on YS's behalf. Noguchi sensei studied with Kunii sensei for a little less than Inaba sensei, but also had the direct transmission.

Inaba sensei continued to study aikido with Yamaguchi sensei, and teaches it alongside the Kashima no Tachi as in his view the need for relaxation alongside the sharpness and focus of the sword is totally necessary.

Sekiya sensei took the decision at the age of 70 to study with Inaba sensei at the Shiseikan - quite a statement of recognition given his age and experience. Was discussing earlier with Paul Smith and SS apparently said his body got better after 70 from that study. I think that SS influenced IS to "open up" to westerners more - for which people such as myself are a direct beneficiary and very grateful!

When I asked Gleason Sensei about this he told me that Noguchi Sensei would teach sword informally before Yamaguchi Sensei would begin to teach

Gleason Sensei also told me that Inaba Sensei would train there sometimes as well, but trained separately from Noguchi Sensei

These's some super 8 footage of Noguchi Sensei performing the Kihon Dachi and Ura Dachi katas included on Gleason Sensei's dvd On it you can see the strength and sharpness of Noguchi Sensei's technique

I learned some Kashima Shinryu from Kanetsuka Sensei and Ezra Sensei in the 1980s too and still do it today - I feel it really matches well with Aikido. When I went to Japan I trained in Shiseikan for a year at some point and they did it too so it was quite fortunate. I have been doing it by myself ever since. However, I remember a senior sensei (Omura Hiroaki) in Japan criticising my shihonage once when I was doing it kesa-giri style - he spotted it instantly and said, No - do it like shomen-uchi !